Villain(s)  Vampire

Actor(s):  Anita Ekberg, John Hamilton, Diana Lorys, Adriana Ambesi

Brief Description  Fangs of the Living Dead (originally released in Europe as Malenka, la sobrina del vampiro or La nipote del vampiro) is a 1969 Euro-horror film written and directed by Spanish horror auteur Amando de Ossorio. It is widely recognized as one of the earliest vampire films to originate from Spain. Filmed in a co-production between Spain and Italy, it blends elements of classic Hammer-style Gothic atmosphere with late-1960s exploitation cinema tropes. The film is particularly famous for starring Swedish bombshell Anita Ekberg (best known for Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita) and for its dual endings, which altered the movie's entire genre depending on which country it was screened in.

Plot:
The story follows Sylvia Morel (Anita Ekberg), a beautiful Italian fashion model living in Rome. Just two weeks before her planned wedding to a conventional man of science, Dr. Piero Luciani (Gianni Medici), Sylvia receives an unexpected letter. The letter reveals that she has inherited a noble title and a massive ancestral castle in the isolated country region of Waldruck. Excited by her sudden fortune, Sylvia travels ahead to inspect the estate, promising Piero she will return shortly for their wedding. When she stops at an inn at the base of the castle mountain, the local villagers fall completely silent and panic upon learning her identity. Unswayed by their terror, she is whisked away to the castle by her uncle's intimidating coachman, Vladis. At the castle, Sylvia meets her mysterious uncle, Count Walbrooke (Julián Ugarte).

The property is occupied by a collection of beautiful, skimpily-clad women who wander the corridors. Sylvia is warned by a fearful maidservant named Blinka that her uncle is actually a centuries-old vampire. The Count isolates Sylvia, telling her that she is the direct descendant of a dark witch and vampire matriarch named Malenka. The Count demands that Sylvia cut ties with her fiancé and embrace her bloodline heritage to become the new undead matriarch of the clan. Concerned by her lack of contact, Dr. Piero travels to the castle alongside his flamboyant friend Max. Piero confronts the Count, but is captured and chained up. Under the Count's hypnotic influence, a tranced Sylvia approaches Piero to drink his blood. However, infighting breaks out among the castle's resident vampires and servants. Sylvia snaps out of her trance, frees Piero, and Piero punches the Count into a fire. The Count rapidly ages into dust, the curse lifts, and the castle's dark influence is destroyed.